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Blockchain Could Soon Be Used to Trace Organic Cotton Thanks to Bext360 Agricultural Project

The increase in interest in organic materials in fashion is growing, and the global market for just organic cotton alone has risen to $15 billion. The growth in production has grown in the double digits each year, but companies are having a hard time keeping up with the demand from consumers. The current supply chain has even made it difficult for manufacturers to determine if the materials they acquire are truly organic or a cheap imitation, according to a recent article in Forbes.

Bext360, an agricultural blockchain startup, has decided to partner with multiple tech companies, especially nonprofits and fashion-based platforms. This partnership is all part of a pilot test to see if blockchain technology can find a use case in the sourcing of organic cotton on the supply chain. The founder and CEO of Bext360, Dan Jones, said that the systems were created “at the farm level.” Essentially, the pilot will include marking the bags of organic cotton when they are harvested, ensuring that the source is recorded.

The pilot, which is being called the Organic Cotton Traceability Pilot, is a partnership between the C&A Foundation, the Organic Cotton Accelerator and Fashion for Good. Supported by C&A, Zalando, PVH Corp and the Kering Group as well, the cotton is traced from the farm to the processing gin. During the second phase of the pilot, the cotton is then traced from gin to the consumer. At the final stage, the stage will be connecting organic farmers, textile producers, and fashion companies.